Pirate Party member Azyz Ammami beaten in detainment

Internal sources from Tunisia confirm that jailed Pirate Party member Azyz Ammami has been beaten by police officers. Furthermore, he was forced to take a pro-regime lawyer instead of his own.

Pirate Party members Azyz Ammani and Slimwere imprisoned on Friday and are being charged on account of anonymous DDoS attacks with degradation of state property. There is currently no contact with them and it is not known whether the charges will be dropped or the case will go forward.

Pirate Parties International urges European and Tunisian politicians to intervene and ensure that Azyz’s and Slim’s human rights are respected.

Update (12.01): More info here (Google translated). We have notified a lot of MEP’s and some news stations (in Bulgaria) and our ambassador in Tunisia.

The arrests come in the context of a “cyberwar” between the Tunisian authorities and web activists, who have been struggling to break through the country’s extensive censorship wall.

(picture by Aljazeera)

Please contact your governments and MEP to help freedom of speech and fight against censorship and violence.